Heroes or Antiheroes: A Character of a True Identity

Literature has always been part of our daily lives. Authors from different parts of the world make each composition part of the civilization or the whole society. In whatever story that we read, we try to understand its social perspectives and the ideologies of the characters. Some of the fictitious narratives talks about the ignorance, immoralities, and illogical thinking of the society towards good and evil. Because of power, some of us tend become irrational with our actions just to prove that we are the authority.This is what the two stories entitled â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† by Kurt Vonnegut and â€Å"Saboteur† by Ha Jin wants to impose to sits readers. From these two stories, it can be said that even if we wants to make our lives equal and perfect, there are still certain situations that will tests our individuality – to become heroes or antiheroes of the society. The main character in Vonnegut’s story is George Bergeron. His family lives a normal lif e before but because they were imprisoned by the military for a special case, their lives were ruined.George dreams of his son every night but it’s all a dream. He wants to see Harrison but he knows he could not. George as the protagonist in the story is a depiction of social imprisonment and injustices. He is a combination of a concept of hero and anti-hero. He is a hero of his family but an antihero of his enemies or the antagonists of his life. Harrison rebels against the government and the system. He escapes from the jail in order to turn down the government. It can be said as a form of individualism because Harrison thinks of his own resolution and not on the idea of fixing an issue.He wants to turndown the government for personal interest and to create his own monarchy. Through this, he became an antihero because he choose to become his own personality and not for the betterment of his society. However, the readers could not blame the characters for they are hopeless an d helpless. â€Å"They were burdened with sash weights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty face, would feel like something the cat drug in (Vonnegut).† They struggle in a immoral society just because they are good citizens and having a normal life. That is why even if they strive hard to become peaceful and work for their community, they still suffer. The equality did not exist right through their environment. On the other way around, Ha Jin’s story is a depiction of social immorality. The authority made irrational attacks towards other people to prove their power and strength; to show that they are right – even if not. Mr.Chui, the main character of the story is a lecturer in a University in his community. He works hard and opens the eyes of many people for the betterment of their country and to prove their rights against immorality and social injustices. Mr. Chui is doing his jobs an d responsibilities as citizen of his state. However, because it is not right for the authority who is implementing the ‘immoral policy,’ they are seeing him as a convict of a crime, which he did not. â€Å"On the glass desktop was a folder containing information on his case.He felt it bizarre that in just a matter of hours they had accumulates a small pile of writing about him. On second thought he began to wonder whether they had kept a file on him all the time (Ha). † Mr. Chui’s characterization in the first part is heroic but as the story reveals the main point of his character, it starts to work to become antihero because he needs to sacrifice his ideologies and beliefs for his friend and own identity. At the end of the story, he chooses to accept his ‘crime’ just to be free.He turns down his beliefs and signs the confession in order to help his ex-student lawyer Fenjinto be stopped from being tortured by the police officers. In connection of the two characters in the story, both Harrison and Mr. Chui, their selfish egos win. Mr. Chui spreads the hepatitis in Muji. He becomes the Saboteur; they accuse him at the very beginning. They both rebel against the system but then pursue their own interests. At the end of it all, the two stories leave the readers some initiatives and learning about the real situation of the society.The two stories are created in different form of culture but they are somehow identical to one another. The authorities are immoral and unjustified with their actions. They want happiness and ego without serving their people. The characters who suffer from all the threats and violence remain hopeless and helpless. What they have to do is to surrender. They were heroes of their own cause but they became antiheroes of their own dignity. The authors of the stories made a significant attack against the authority of the society.They must know their limitations to make their society a better one for they are the implementers of law and they are treated as respectful individuals who make their people secured and free from harm – so they must also bring back the respect for they are the authority. In conclusion to this, it can be said that the two characters in the stories are antiheroes. In the beginning of the narratives, they were imprisoned and they sacrifice more than what they expected because they have their own ideologies and beliefs.However, as they experience the threats and sacrifices within their path, they started to think for revenge against the system who tortured their character. If we look at the lighter perspective, we could not blame them from all the experiences that they have gone through. However, if we try to seek the deeper perspective of case, they will remain as antiheroes of the society because they work for their own monarchy and satisfaction and not for the betterment of their whole society. Works Cited Ha, Jin. Saboteur. Vonnegut, Kurt. Harrison Be rgeron.

Best Candidate to be U.S. President Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Best Candidate to be U.S. President - Essay Example He has continued to make such significant and deep speeches and has even been combined it with solid character. One cannot ignore such an aspect of leadership because no matter how good a president's policies are, at the end of the day, he/she needs to communicate them to the public and convince them why those policies should be implemented. History has shown how leaders like Winston Churchill and Adolph Hitler were able to move crowds to action. Presidents with good oratory skills may motivate their citizens to work harder and contribute towards the development of their economy. (Somerset, 2008) Some of Obama's rivals have claimed that this is something that should not be considered since they feel that greater precedence should be given to policies. However, this argument holds no water because Obama has both aspects; oratory skills and concrete ideas. One of the most outspoken candidates and rivals to Obama; Clinton keep on claiming that Senator Obama has no experience in politics generally and in the United States parliament specifically. However this is very invalid statement because of the following reasons; First of all, Senator Obama has served for seven years as Illinois Senator. When one compares this to what President George W. Bush had before his election, this exceeds Bush's years by five. Even his main democratic rival has nothing on him. If voted into office, he will have three years more experience than her. It should also be note that the issue of experience has only been considered as a point by Hillary Clinton. No other presidential candidate has highlighted the issue of lack of experience aside from her. Racial issues Some stereotypes have argued that American citizens will never accept an African American for president. But this is a far cry from where the American State has emerged. Gone are the days when African Americans were considered as subordinate to the 'white' American. Those issues were addressed adequately in the 1964 Civil rights movements that saw the elimination of all discriminative issues. While one must not ignore the fact that race is still an issue in the US, it is highly unlikely that this will the main issue driving the election. Polls have shown that the racial issue carries a very small percentage among priority lists for voters. (Hutcherson, 2008) It should also be noted that there are also other issues in other presidential candidates that would cause potential sources of bias. For example, Hillary Clinton is also not your 'typical candidate' simply because she is a woman. The New Mexico Governor was happens to be a Latin American and still stood for the presidential race. Therefore proponents of this argument would eliminate almost all presidential candidates since there is something about them that renders them unconventional. The United States electorate is more interested in the best and most qualified person for the job and not how they look like. Such biases are more of side shows than the real deal. Bi partisanship Senator Barrack Obama is one leader who has the ability to reconcile two major differing parties or issues. The nature of the American State is that most individuals are quite opinionated yet democratic at the same time. There is no room for imposition of rules or policies without consultation and

Quantitative Finance Analysis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Quantitative Finance Analysis - Term Paper Example It is important to note that the influence of using highly specialized quantitative techniques is on an increasing trend mainly due to its ability to provide inferential statistics. The results are inferred in a highly prà ©cised and accurate manner, which lead the quantitative analysts to sort out the different aspects attached with the behavior of a financial decision. This report highlights various kinds of scenarios in which the specialized quantitative techniques are applied in order to sort out the behavior of the financial decision taken under that scenario. Specialized techniques such as regression, correlation, NPV, IRR, yield to maturity, annuity, etc are utilized to analyze the different scenarios. Net Present Value Background Information This question inquires about the viability of an investment opportunity such that the opportunity requires $10,000 to be invested today. The cash inflows from this opportunity will be derived in such a way that $500 will be received after one year, $1,500 after two years and $10,000 after ten years. With reference to the particular technique of Net Present Value (NPV), the viability of this opportunity is asked whether the opportunity is attractive if interest rates are 6% and 2% respectively. Theoretical Background Net Present Value (NPV) is the technique, which mainly works on the concepts of time value of money. According to time value of money, the money received in future time does not have the same worth, had that money received today (Brigham et al, 2010 pp. 380-81). If that future money is brought back today, it would have lesser worth. NPV is the technique that works on the basis of cash flows such that the initial investment is deducted from the discounted cash flows. The resulting answer provides the estimated amount of benefit earned or loss incurred in case of opting the investment opportunity. In case if the NPV is found to be positive, it means, that the investment opportunity is financially viable and hence should be accepted. In case of negative NPV, the investment opportunity is not up-to-the-mark and it should be rejected. Computation Years 0 1 2 10 Investment (10,000)    Cash Inflows 500 1,500 10,000 Discount Factor (6%) 1.0000 0.9434 0.8900 0.5584 D iscounted Cash Flows (10,000) 471.70 1,334.99 5,583.95 NPV (2,609.36)          Years 0 1 2 10 Investment (10,000)    Cash Inflows 500 1,500 10,000 Discount Factor (2%) 1.0000 0.9804 0.9612 0.8203 Discounted Cash Flows (10,000) 490.20 1,441.75 8,203.48 NPV 135.43          Interpretation From the above stated results, it can be observed that if the interest rate is set to be 6% to discount the later coming cash inflows, it would result in negative NPV of $2,609.36. Since the negative NPV states that the investment opportunity is not attractive enough to be accepted, therefore it should be rejected. On the other hand, if the interest rate is trimmed to only 2%, it will generate positive NPV of $135 from the same cash flows. This positive NPV reflect that the investment opportunity is financially viable and it should be accepted. Question 2 Present Value Annuity Background Information This question pertains to annuity such that a house is to be purchased on mortgage basis. The actual cost of house is $350,000. However, the buyer is willing to pay $50,000 as down payment. For the rest of $300,000 the buyer wants to pay the amount along with the interest payments in next 30 years at 7% interest per annum. The buyer wishes to pay loan in 30 equal installments, which should include principal amount

Story from the bible Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Story from the bible - Essay Example Judith is introduced in chapter eight as a wealthy widow woman of the city called Bethulia. Her husband died perhaps of heat stroke while he was overseeing a harvest and left her with all of his belongings. She is described as being very pious and wise and has the respect of the elders of the town. When they think they have no choice but to give up, she assures them she will do something about the invading general Holofernes, who is camped in the next valley. By Chapter 11, she has dressed herself in a way that is seductive but also very wealthy and classy so that she can get the attention of Holofernes, which is successful. She spends several nights praying for the right time for Holofernes to attack while he plans how he’s going to have her physically. Chapter 13 is the most exciting chapter of the story as it is here that she beheads Holofernes as he is passed out drunk and then passes out of his camp with his head in a bag unharmed because of the way she had arranged her s tay there. Although she is mentioned as late as the last chapter of the book, Chapter 16, her story is really finished by Chapter 14 after she tells her countrymen what to do with the head and how to frighten the rest of the Assyrians away. This story of Judith is central to the book’s meaning as it is her actions that attempt to teach the process of making oneself the instrument of God. The book has undergone a great deal of scrutiny in terms of its authorship and dating. The Women’s Bible Commentary points out that the book was mentioned in 1 Clement in the first century, so it had to have been written prior to that time. Others, such as the New Jerome Biblical Commentary have discovered references in the writings of Clement of Alexandria, Origen and Tertullian. The HarperCollins Bible Commentary suggests that the book is post-exilic and probably

Sustained writting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sustained writting - Essay Example The author further adds that, despite being wealthy, the gross domestic product does not rhyme with people’s wellbeing. Therefore, social innovation comes in as demand for the wellbeing programs at the workplace, which has led majority of employers to seek strategies that will aid the wellbeing programs. The article further adds that, research on employees’ wellbeing has previously focused on the quality of job, the balance of work life and employee satisfaction. In addition, those employees who are given more space in the office have low stress rat and high sense of wellbeing. Indeed, the growing productivity in the place of work in Australia can be related to employees’ wellbeing. Social Need: Employee and Business Well-Being as Organizations Demand According to Lebihan (2011, p.27), numerous research programs of organization and employees wellbeing are being launched; this can only mean that employees’ wellbeing has become a social need that needs to be attended to. Employees’ wellbeing includes satisfaction, job quality and the balance of work life, while organization’s wellbeing includes organization change, strength, and organizations dynamics. Nevertheless, for an organization to succeed there is need for a healthy and focused workforce that will drive the organization towards a competitive advantage. Importantly, employees’ quality of life should be improved so as to yield to organization’ effectiveness and allow employees increase their performance and productivity level. Studies have proved that when employees achieve job satisfaction, the level of absence reduces work related accidents, and the level of retention is high, thus productivity increases since employees are committed to work. Boezeman & Ellemers (2009, P.898) define job satisfaction as the attitude one has concerning his job; this attitude determines the employees’ output. According to Lebihan’s article, research is yet to proof that workers with high level of well-being are more productive thus resulting to a more profitable and functional organization. Social innovation in relation to employee wellbeing In this 21st century, imbalance contributes to the sustainability of business as usual, especially due to scarcity of resources and the increase in costs; hence, a change in the expectations of employees and customers is experienced. Therefore, social innovation should be directed towards social needs, for instance, organizations should find new strategies that not only contribute to the well being of employees but to organization’s productivity. Lebihan’s article, states that there is increasing demand of well being programs from employers who emphasize on proof that supports such programs. The result is leaving researchers with a task of proofing how wellbeing workers contribute to high productivity. Social innovation incorporates the developments and implementation of new ideas t hat will match the social needs. One arising need in this article is the employee and business wellbeing. However, social innovation is associated with the challenge of cost; nevertheless, it still contributes to the

Case study of evaluate an event in the form of a case study

Of evaluate an event in the form of a - Case Study Example This study will evaluate Australia-based sports event. The Australian Open is taken under consideration in this study as the event. This case study will analyze and evaluate the impact of Australian Open on the economy of the country. Moreover, this study will reveal the contribution of this sport event in the growth of sports tourism sector. Government and sports ministry of Australia, several stakeholders including national Tennis agencies, state government, several state tennis academies and institutes are considered as important resources of Australian Sport Tourism Industry. Part 1 There are several classifications of sport tourism in Australia. Australian sport tourism can be segregated into three parts, such as sport events tourism, active sport tourism, and celebrity and nostalgia sport tourism (Hinch and Higham, 2011, p.45). Australian Open can be considered under active sport tourism wherein the individuals or players participate in the sport events to win this prestigious Tennis Title. In Australian Open, greatest global tennis players come to Australia in the month of January. Australian Open is a popular sporting event that blends the enjoyment and fun of tennis with traditional cultural and social activities that celebrate the love of Australians. Australian Open gained huge popularity and acceptability across the globe. People of Australia love tennis and love to watch the Australian Open as all the popular global tennis players take part in this sporting event in order to win this tennis title. Every year the popularity and acceptance of Australian Open is significantly increasing at a constant rate. Economic development is the major consequence of this Australian Open. It is important for government, sports ministry and state or national tennis academies to develop future plan for this specific sporting event. Stakeholder’s role in Sport Tourism Sector Australian sport tourism sector is one of the major economic drivers. Australian Open is one of the popular sporting events in which leading global tennis players used to participate in order to win the prestigious Tennis Title. This Australian Open is one of the most significant tourism catalysts (Smith and Stewart, 2010, pp. 1-13). This sporting event attracts several global tennis lovers and spectators. Moreover, various scenic beauty and tourist spots forced the spectators to visit Australia. The country gets benefited in both ways. Ultimately, the revenue increases. It plays an important part in country’s development. There are several sport event organizations in Australia. Australian government and ministry of Sports developed Federal Sport Policy (McCabe, 2005, pp.85-106). This policy is delivered through a range of significant structure. It includes Anti-Doping Authority of Australian sports, Department of Ageing and Health and Australian Sport Commission. Australian Open is managed by the Tennis Australia. This organization is regulated by the sports ministry of the country. Government and sports ministry of Australia, several stakeholders including national Tennis agencies, state government, several state tennis academies and institutes are continuously trying to

Hinduism Essay Example for Free

Hinduism Essay The belief of the existence of a supernatural being has always been there since time immemorial. People have a common belief that there exists a super being that has more power than an ordinary being and that this being deserves to be respected and adorned. It is because of this reason that there are many religions. Religions are groups of people who share a common faith. There are many religions in the world today but the most common are Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. The focus of this paper is Hinduism as a religion and more importantly what makes it a religion, now that it lacks a uniting belief (Kim.  1998). Hinduism ranks third among the largest religions in the world. It is estimated that in the world today there are about eight hundred and 20 million followers of this particular religion. This is a big increase in terms of followers in comparison to a few years back. Hinduism is also considered as one of the most organized yet the oldest religion in the world. This not withstanding Hinduism has been described by many theologians as not being a full-fledged religion in terms of composition as there are some components the religion lacks (Axel. 2004). Unlike other religions Hinduism does not have a universal founder. While Islam is believed to have been found by Prophet Muhammad who was sent by Allah, Christianity was founded by Jesus who was sent by God. This is however not the case in Hinduism as there is no particular person who is the founder of this faith. Hinduism as a religion also lacks a specific holy book as there is a Bible in Christianity and a Quran among the Muslims. There is also not a centralized system of authority and the concept of a prophet being sent by a supreme being is non existent in Hinduism. Hinduism also lacks a system of theology that is specific as it the case with other religions (Gavin. 1996). Hinduism had never been considered as a religion for many years for lack of these major components that make up a religion. However, as years went by due the large numbers that this faith was claiming it was now ranked among the three major religions in the world. Hinduism has instead been viewed more as a way of living than as a religion. While other religions, Christianity for instance are a group of people with the same kind of faith, Hinduism is made up of various religions where people profess different faiths. These different faiths have their origin in India and with gradual evolution they have led to the growth and development of Hinduism as a religion (Axel. 2004). Hinduism is very much bent on the beliefs of an individual on what is right as opposed to worshipping a supreme being. Although Hinduism is one of the oldest faiths of the world, it lacks unification and many people have always considered as a lesser religion or better still an organized group of faithful as opposed to a religion. Looking at the definition of a religion it is in order to conclude that Hinduism is not a religion but instead a well organized form of faith. The concept of God lacks in this form of faith and the shepherd who is usually the clergy in other religions acts like a mere guideline to other members of the society. Hindus have no one particular God to who they give worship and praise. Instead they have an array of gods who are represented by idols. Hinduism has been described as one of the most tolerant religions in the world where freedom of worship is granted to the faithful of the religion. For instance a Hindu faithful needs not frequent the temple so as to be considered righteous. Instead following the rules of the religion is considered enough (Gavin. 1996). Something major to note is that all; gods in the Hindu religion are not divines as is the case in other religions. While in Islam and Christianity, God is divine, in Hindu, their gods are artificially made and are mainly represented by animals especially cows. However the Hindu religion has one major strength and this is the manifestation of the religion. While in many religions this aspect does not always come out strongly, in Hinduism manifestation is considered as part of the daily routine (Gavin. 1996). In conclusion it is correct to argue that Hinduism is only considered a religion and indeed one of the major religions of the world mainly because of the mass following it has and not because of its composition. It has however been able to grow over the years and has found its place in the world and is now ranked third among the main religions.